Reflecting on your business’ progress over the past year is key when it comes to moving forward and improving your business. This is the best time to really buckle down and analyze your business’ scope since papers, files, and everything in between should all be available for you to review. Now that 2018 is here, it is time to take that information you’ve discovered and establish a better, more effective plan.
This is much easier said than done but is a process that needs to happen if you want your business to grow and succeed. To get the ball rolling, let’s go over a checklist that will lead you and your business in the right direction when establishing a new business plan and mindset for the new year!
Share the Workload
If you own a business, you know this isn’t always easy. Your business is your baby – it is important to you, so handing off your workload to someone else can be tough. However, after much experience, we know that sharing the workload is a must for your insanity as a business owner! With a heavy workload being taken care of by multiple people, it gives your business the opportunity to carry on more efficiently and offers the flexibility to tackle other tasks along the way.
In order to turn this piece of advice into an actionable weekly task, it is ideal to start small. Hand off small projects, this will allow everyone (including yourself) to adjust to the change in work flow. Once trust and understanding has developed, evenly split the workload among you and your assistant or team.
Make Promoting Your Business a Priority
With many startup businesses, marketing tends to slip through the cracks – not on purpose but due to the fast paced industry and surprises that come with owning a business. We suggest you make it a goal this year to step up your marketing game to bring in new clients and grow your online presence – but where and how do you start?
You have two options here: make time on your schedule and dedicate it towards marketing your business (digitally or traditionally) OR hire a professional to help you maintain your marketing. Hiring a digital marketer will take weight off your shoulders and give you peace of mind as you will know your business is in the hands of a professional. This is also another great way to practice the previous tip!
Set Weekly Goals
This is a habit that everyone, even those who are not business owners, should do! Setting weekly goals gives your team a purpose for that week. It helps clarify what the priorities are and what the team should be focusing on. With a startup business, it is no secret that you and your team will be juggling a million and one things but with weekly goals in place, a schedule is established to an extent. Meaning – a sense of organization and motivation is fixed and stress or confusion is prevented.
Network More
We wrote a blog about how important networking is last year and guess what? It’s still important this year too! Make an effort this year to attend more networking events. Every startup needs to start somewhere and networking events are a perfect place to start. Exposure, connections, and friendships are the main three that’ll come from attending a networking event and that’s exactly what you want for your business and as a professional in the industry. Who knows what those new connections will lead to!
It’s Okay to “Give Up” Sometimes
It’s okay to start again when something doesn’t work out. It is not a “waste of time” or a “failure.” Among all the professional tips we shared here, this is by far the most important (for your business and for your mental health) and should be practiced on a daily basis. Learn to let things go if they don’t work and learn to embrace those lessons.
Running a business is a never ending learning curve and mistakes will occur along the way, it’s okay to give up on ideas and flip the script when needed, this is part of the journey. Give up on what’s not working and figure out an alternative solution. Don’t invest more time in to trying to work something that is not workable. Take a breath, drink some water, and tackle the task again with a clearer mindset.
We’re not going to sugarcoat it – it is not always easy or enjoyable being your own boss and running a startup business. It is rewarding but requires a lot of hard work. With this list, we hope we can help you prioritize and organize what changes may need to take place in order to keep up with the industry in 2018. This may not be the “key to success” but it will definitely bring you closer to the road of success. Let’s kick off 2018 the right way!